1. ARCADE FIREFuneral (Merge)
"How great is this record? It has everything you want to hear: powerful guitars, mellower moments, a tormented voice and it's catchy. Sometimes, a band can create something incredible with a release. And that is the case with Arcade Fire." Luc Nicole-Labrie, Quebec QC
"What can I say? It's everything I needed this year, living out in the snow." Brian Rehus, Thunder Bay ON
"Just plain amazing. Makes me feel proud to be a Canadian." James Brotheridge, Regina SK
"Raw, catchy, and disturbing. Sends shivers up the spine if you listen carefully enough." William Wang, Vancouver BC
"It hasn't left my CD player since it came out. I think I am in love. I am naturally just a bit jealous that they aren't being faithful. I forgive them though." Daina Tavenier, Montreal QC
"Try as you might, you cannot resist this album. And if you think your cynical nature can withstand the critical onslaught and mass praise, just go see them perform live and you will bow to their every whim. It's unavoidable. Perhaps the best album since Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" Graig Kent, Toronto ON
"Just beautiful, emotive music that actually lives up to the hype." Nin Chan, Toronto ON
"Real fun. A lot of pop/rock albums were great this year, but Funeral manages to beat them all." Louis-Nicolas Dolbec, Beauharnois QC
"Lovely! Just lovely!" Claire Ward, Etobicoke ON
"This album is the best thing I have heard in a long, long time." Justine Ulman, Kitchener ON
"It's all about the Fire." Dennis Darling, Guelph ON
"The 17-year-old Broken Social Scene sang an anthem for grows up, gets married, and goes through the death of her parents. She and her husband start a band, and it ends up like this an awesome pop album that alternates between joyfully sad and mournfully exuberant." Matthew Pollesel, Ottawa ON
2. FRANZ FERDINAND
(Domino)
"Being a fan of garage and new wave, hearing this album was like finding Gang of Four or Talking Heads for the first time. Even before the hype, this was/is a great album. It makes a lame-o like myself want to shake his ass on the dance floor." Ryan Smith, Fredericton NB
"What a dope album. Great songwriting, catchy tunes, great musicianship and you can still get your groove on to it." Kevin Grabb, Barrie ON
" Never have the genre lines been as blurred as this year, with many acts incorporating many types of music not only on one album, but often in the same song. To wit: Franz Ferdinand's dance-rock hit "Take Me Out." A great track from a fantastic album." Jason Widgington, Lachine QC
"A refreshing listen where the album must be consumed in its entirety. The videos are mind-bending and hypnotic to boot." James Marcogliese, Ottawa ON
"This record is so good that it shouldn't be anyone's favourite album that would be like cheering for oxygen. However these Scottish boys deserve kudos for bringing the sweetness to satiate our collective weakness and for reminding us that it's not the release but the teases which please us." Thomas Dorey, Winnipeg MB
"New wave + glam + techno + '80s pop = blinding bloody genius!" Caroline Evans, Montreal QC
"The soundtrack of 2004, in my mind. Like all the greatest albums, it came out of nowhere to blow our minds!" David Drysdale, Prince George BC
"Glorious from start to end. Only Scottish people can make music sound that good." Deddy Setton, Toronto ON
3. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Interscope)
"A truly outstanding piece of work and that it is slightly better than Wilco's A Ghost is Born." Ryan Slade, Waterloo ON
"Good to hear from U2 again!" Mike Irving, Surrey BC
"They still have the talent and the originality to release one hell of an amazing album." Justin Pearen, Thunder Bay ON
"U2 are back and they are great." Paul Gilbert, Essex ON
4. DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979
You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (Last Gang)
"The best thing to happen to music in Canada since well, ever. Amazing that two people can sound like six. Intense and wicked." Ian Burmaster, Edmonton AB
"Boiled down and built up, Toronto's native sons delivered an unstoppable album that proves guitars are not required to melt faces." Bryan Carver, Ottawa ON
"So rockin' I wet myself with lyrics that make you sing along and giggle and all without a hint of pretension." Jason Scott, Edmonton AB
"These guys reek of awesomeness." Michael Yee, Toronto ON
"These guys don't stop! So many artists are just regurgitating old sounds, paying homage and walking off, leaving rock'n'roll used and a little tainted, but DFA 79 pays homage while expanding the genre." Derek Porritt, Edmonton AB
"It's like a dance party for angry people that like heavy music." Josh Lindley, Vancouver BC
"It's true! An elephant is tearing up your living room, and you love it!" Matt Prodnuk, Surrey BC
5. INTERPOL
Antics (Matador)
"They blew me away again. Only Interpol can make this depressingly happy blend in modern age and have a million fans swoon and succumb." J.J. Brewis, Vancouver BC
"I had heard this described as coked-out paranoia,' but after listening to this you don't even need the coke." Kendra Goertzen, Winnipeg MB
"They toned down the moody, and cranked up the booty. Either way, the final result is gorgeous." Zaheen Karim, Ottawa ON
"More of the same as Turn on the Bright Lights but they've perfected their songwriting and boy do they do it well. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Jeff Purmalis, Stoney Creek ON
"Addictive and always sexy..." Patricia Hennig, Toronto ON
"More pep than their previous album but still fantastically depressing." Alfred Holmes, Leduc AB
6. MODEST MOUSE
Good News For People Who Love Bad News (Epic)
"It makes me sad that they keep getting played on the radio and everyone walking down the street is listening to them, but Modest Mouse still makes me smile. Forget everyone else and listen to this album please." Mandy Sist, Barrie ON
"Excellent album. 'Nuff said." Neil Keown, Airdrie AB
"It's a good attempt at breaking in to the ears of a younger generation of Modest Mouse fans and it makes me happy to hear my little brother's friends in high school listening to it." Marlow Turansky, Ottawa ON
"This album represents a diverse, intricate improvement on their sound." Oliver Pulleyblank, Montreal QC
"This album mixes all sorts of different styles blending it into one great rock album." Jeff Bertrand, Timmins ON
7. WILCO
A Ghost Is Born (Nonesuch)
"People need to get over comparing this album to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I've heard too many people complain that it's not the same.' Gimme a break. This album is fantastic. Lyrically stunning and musically ingenious, it has more to offer than the post 9/11 remarks of Yankee. In a word: genius." Barbara Greenberg, Ottawa ON
"I can't stop listening to it." Jarkko Ylanko, Toronto ON
"Seen them live yet? Maybe you'll understand once you have..." Matthew McDaniel, Burnaby BC
"After one or two apprehensive gloss-overs, I knew I was hooked after the third when the hair on my arms stood straight up. With vocal chords made of gold, how is there any comparison?" Mark Oatway, Toronto ON
"Hopefully this one will go gold as well. Not just so they can buy some diapers and burgers for little Tweedy but also because Reprise sucks." Claus Nader, Toronto ON
"A defining album of this year, haunting guitar work." Kevin Lionais, Sydney NS
"Unbelievable album." Tom Cowan, Edmonton AB
8. TOM WAITS
Real Gone (Anti)
"Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan have continued to make interesting challenging music since the early '80s. This album once again demonstrates that there are always new things to try and experiment with. There are new ways of singing, beat boxing, sampling, and even a ten-minute song. There are some of the Tom Waits regulars but plenty of new ones. You don't even notice there's no piano, hell I probably wouldn't have even noticed had it not been pointed out." Bryan Bray, Montreal QC
"This is probably his most toe-tappin' release ever, and it's loaded with the scratchy, rough n' tumble sounds you expect from the man. You don't even miss the piano-based songs, which are one of his trademarks. Solid." Allan Lorde, Winnipeg MB
"Once again this middle-aged man has managed to blow all of the so-called cutting-edge' trendy of the moment artists out of the water with continued dedication to left field production/sonic experimentation, stream of consciousness/poetic lyrics, diverse arrangements and instrumentation, and a fleet of dedicated and longstanding back-up musicians. Real Gone illustrates what the rock genre as a whole has the potential to be: a relevant and beautiful reflection upon oneself and the world. However, Waits' peers, though many cite him as an inspiration, have opted for the commercial route with abysmal results. Whether or not one enjoys the gravelly voice, morose lyrics, and experimental sound, Waits must still be given credit for continuing to explore his craft and selected mode of artistic expression, a lesson that has yet to be learned by Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Jane's Addiction, et al." Chadwick Barnes, Montreal QC
"Waits just gets better and better as time goes by... the only true musical genius in the world today." Daniel Tervoort, Winnipeg MB
9. NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (Anti)
"Abattoir Blues is so biblical and gigantic, it should come with its own sacrificial lamb." Marc-Olivier Bouchard, Vancouver BC
"Another brilliant Cave release. He is in a league of his own." Paul Abrash, Toronto ON
"This has teeth and subliminal substance." Kirby Hill, Montreal QC
"Stunning and restless at times, raw and floaty at others, this double is certainly the greatest surprise of the year, and a pleasant one at that." Eliane Huppe, Vancouver BC
"I don't think Nick has sounded this vital in ages." Nin Chan, Toronto ON
"Nick is such an amazingly consistent artist; after 20 years of making music, he still sounds as relevant today as he did back in his Birthday Party days." Paul Choy, LaSalle QC
10. STARS
Set Yourself On Fire (Arts + Crafts)
"I really wanted to make a less obvious choice than this, but it's impossible. Every song is a pop smoothie that spoke of politics and/or love, but still managed to avoid clichés. While everyone argues over the brilliance (or lack of it) on albums by Arcade Fire, Wilco or the Fiery Furnaces, they all danced to this one." Kevin Cardoza, Ottawa ON
"The live show hooked me in. This album is beautiful and powerful pop fun." Jesse Radu, Saskatoon SK
"This album is great. The intro on the first song gets you hooked and without even knowing it you become addicted to the whole album. It's wonderful." Stephanie Cunti, Scarborough ON